The superhero movie Doctor Strange is disturbingly similar to

Doctor Strange has been out a week and has received almost universal praise for Marvel Studios. After seeing Doctor Strange I have a view on the film that some might find interesting, the majority will likely condemn, and hopefully, some fraction will find funny. Major spoilers ahead so beware.

To begin I’ll break down the plot of the film:

In the first act, we are introduced to Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his on/off again girlfriend Christine (Rachel McAdams) who is his work colleague. He’s one of the most skilled and decorated figures in his profession even though he is egotistical and his methods at times unorthodox. Unfortunately, he suffers an accident, and his almost superhuman abilities are taken away.

Fast forward into the second act and Stephen has become a member of an interdimensional force of sorcerers being led by a literal Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) all the while being mentored by veteran sorcerer Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and no-nonsense librarian Wong (Benedict Wong). As the film progresses Strange meets the villain of the piece Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) who turns out has been twisted by an ancient evil who preyed on his disillusion from the teachings of the Ancient One.

Now heading into the climactic final act of Doctor Strange we see the introduction of the true villain and it is an entity of pure energy that is depicted as a giant planet sized head. After the big bad is defeated by Strange alone, we are treated to an after credit scene showing that Mordo has now too become disillusioned and has begun his own villainous descent. Several other parts are moving around during the film but these are the main bullet points of Doctor Strange and when I came out of the movie and mulled over my thoughts I came to the conclusion that Doctor Strange is similar in tone, and story structure to another comic book film. And you may not like the movie I believe it’s reminiscent of.

Doctor Strange is Green Lantern

Surprise.

So a number of sites have brought up this point and I’m here to lay out some of the biggest reasons why they are so similar.

Prodigies in their chosen field

Both Stephen and Hal are regarded in their chosen fields as exceptional individuals. The only problem people have with them is their unbelievable egos. Both of these heroes take lives into their hands with their cavalier attitudes because they believe they are untouchable. Now this is nothing new, most hero stories begin this way, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

They are inducted into a police force tasked with protecting universes

This is one that I find particularly interesting because I’ve always seen Strange as a singular character and Hal as a team player who takes centre stage when the need arises. However, when I saw Doctor Strange, it was hammered home that Strange was the latest in the line of world protectors tasked with protecting our universe and the multiverse as a whole. He’s part of a large group instead of being the sole guardian with a few sparse allies. Compare this to Green Lantern where Hal becomes part of another universal protection service run by a group of individuals who are as old as time, ancient you might say. The introduction of a large group almost exactly like Strange in some ways lessens him, and on a funny side note each member of this group gets a ‘sling ring,’ that’s right a unique ring.

Their mentors are the same characters

Being the new guy in the police force means you need the old guard to teach you the ropes and in that regard, Hal and Stephen have great mentors, who are the same. Mordo and Sinestro are given the same motivations and character journey in their respective films, right down to the post-credit reveal of their allegiance change. Wong is a vastly different character in his cinematic debut, granted he has had to change as his original conception was of an Asian manservant who answered directly to Strange. He’s now a tough as nails instructor who is physically imposing and takes s***t from no one. If this sounds familiar it should; Marvel has turned Wong into Kilowog, this isn’t a bad thing, but it is yet another similarity of note.

The villains are interchangeable

Hector Hammond and Kaecilius, Parallax and Dormammu these two pairs of villains each have the same motivations as their counterparts. Hector Hammond and Kaecilius are two individuals who have twisted beliefs that they are to bring about the end of worlds with their respective masters reigning supreme. Both villains are puppets in the end, and in the grand scheme of things just a stepping stone to the real evil.

Finally, we come to our big bads, Dormammu and Parallax; they wish for the end of all things, as well as this they are ancient evils with incredible power, and they are large CGI faces. In the comics, Dormammu is a being clothed in black with a flaming head, and Parallax is a monstrous entity bathed in yellow energy with an insectoid frame. Going with these distinct and unique designs could have been great, instead of watching our heroes go up against two talking heads. This irked me because we’ve come so far in regard to how characters translate from page to screen and I personally always find the giant head trope to be a particularly annoying one. How Strange and Green Lantern deal with their respective giant heads are vastly different, Strange’s battle interesting and fun, Green Lantern’s mundane and formulaic, nonetheless this is still a startling similarity.

I’d like to end this article with a question for you to think about; As the films are so similar, do you think GL was treated unfairly by critics?

I hope you enjoyed this piece, leave your comments and thoughts below.

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About The Author

Superman enthusiast, pop culture fan and film journalist. Creator of podcast Speakin' Geek and contributor to Scannain.com, iRadio and Spin 103.8. I love talking about anything and everything(except country music, I hate country music). My views are my own and I would love to discuss them with you.